Ride Safe without a Hitch
by xenobicorn
Summary: Flaky's not sure if she's imagining it, but she gets the feeling Flippy's after her, out on the road, waiting. When she's sees him trying to hitchhike, she tries to ignore him, but after he helps her, she's not sure what to think. Is Flippy helping her? Or are her fears true? And will Flaky ever be able to trust Flippy again? Oneshot. Based off the episode Without a Hitch.


It was a dark and stormy night, the rain pattering down in sheets cold as ice, the thunder cracking in the inky blackness, lightning lighting up the world. The headlights on Flaky's car were low and dim, barely breaching the rain layer enough to light up a couple of feet of the road ahead. The red porcupine was frightened out of her wits, for she knew she had seen someone on the side of the road in the dark, knew that that someone was her worst nightmare. Her eyes widened. There he was, overtaking the car. She swerved, and the car plummeted over the steep drop to the right of her. Just as she saw the ground ready to greet her, she snapped back to reality. She breathed in a sigh of relief. Just a hallucination. There was no one out there. Lightning flashed through the sky. And she saw _him_. There was Flippy on the side of the road, sticking his paw out to hitchhike, his darker green camouflage army jacket barely enough to keep his lighter green coat from getting drenched. No way. Flaky shook her head violently and drove past him, not wanting to invite disaster. And she was afraid. So very afraid. For a brief second she saw a look of disappointment cross his eyes. Thunder crashed, and she peered in the rearview mirror fearfully. He was still there, waiting in the rain. His eyes were fixed on hers, as if boring into her soul. Flaky shivered. A sudden explosion rocked the car, and it dipped, stalled. _Oh God! The tire's gone out! Oh god! Please, no! Oh God!_ _Oh God! No, no, no!_ Quivering with panic, Flaky stepped out of the car into the rain. _No!_ The downpour drenched her almost instantly. She peered behind her, breaths coming in ragged gasps. The shadows of rain drenched trees encroached the road, grabbing for her like hands. Flaky flattened herself against the car, paw on the door handle. _Not yet. I can't go. Not yet. Until the wheel's fixed. Fix the wheel. Wheel._ She slunk along side the car, eyes still on the road behind the car. Thunder boomed, and Flaky threw herself against the car, eyes gaping, breath now wheezing in. Lightning lit up the road. _What if he's behind me? Behind me?_ Flaky whipped her head around. No one. She was at the trunk now. She opened it, fumbled for the trapdoor, and found the spare wheel and the set of tools to replace it. Thunder rolled, and she raced to the front right wheel. _Replace it. Replace it. Then we'll be fine. Fine. We'll be fine._ Just as she pumped up the jack and began to unscrew the lug nuts on the wheel, a sudden frightening thought took hold of her mind, lodging itself deep, refusing to leave. Flaky suddenly remembered the time that her grandfather had told her the story of the highwayman, the Black Assassin. She remembered vividly how Grandfather had described him. _His eyes were as yellow as the harvest moon, his coat black as sin. And he'd get you. If you ever were caught in any kind of storm, on any kind of road, at any time of day, he'd get you._ And then Grandfather would tell how. _Well, the legend goes that there was once a young girl just about your age, and she was taking a carriage home one night and then there comes a-pouring down in sheets, a storm so wicked and foul that them horses was just about drenched to the bone before they got no farther than two feet. Well, here she was, sitting in the carriage, scared as ever, when all of a sudden, the driver announces that she has to get out of the coach. So she does, but just as she gets out into the rain, a big thunder booms, and the horses scare, galloping off in panic into the night. Well, of course, the driver goes after them. But he tells the girl, 'You stay in the coach and wait until I call you out, you hear? I'll be back in no time. You'll be safe if you stay in the coach.' So that's what she does. She stays. By and by, there's a scuffle sound over the rain and a calling, 'We ready to go. I'm back. You can come out now.' So she does. But when she gets out of that there carriage, it's not the coachman there waiting for her. It's the highwayman, the Black Assassin. His yellow eyes peer out at her, but before she can scream out, he grabs her and that's the last that's heard of her. And everyone now says, that highwayman, that Black Assassin is out to get the next one down the road. He's waiting for you Flaky. Waiting._ Thunder boomed. Flaky dropped the the wrench she was holding, and one of the nuts rolled away under the car and into the dark of the road to the left of her car. _Waiting to get you._ She was shaking in fright. _Okay. Let's go get that little–_ She whimpered, and crept ever so slowly out further onto the road. There it was. Just as she reached down to pick it up, had her paw firmly grasped around it, she felt another's paw on hers. It was black as sin. She slowly raised her eyes, only to be greeted by a set of yellow ones, bright as the harvest moon. She looked down at her paw. The one on top was green. She gasped as Flippy'shand tightened around hers. He twisted her paw backwards.

"I've got you," he growled. His wicked smile grew. Flaky lashed out.

"Leave me alone!" She picked up the nut and ran. She got to the car and began putting in the new tire as fast as she could.

"No. You're trapped." He begin to chuckle evilly.

Flaky pressed herself agains the cold steel hide of her car. Lighting cracked, and something glinted in the electric air. Flippy's face was filled with malice. Again, the thunder roared, and Flaky was suddenly snapped back to reality. She breathed a sigh of relief. _Just a hallucination. You're fine. You're fine._ She began to put in the new tire.

A voice behind her, calm and quiet, spoke, "I can do that for you, Flaky. Just stay in the car and keep warm."

Flaky turned. It was _him._ His brown eyes were warm. Flaky quivered.

"Yes…yes…o…okay…okay…just…just don't…don't…don't hurt me," she stammered, terror surging through her veins. She slowly slid away, eyes locked on Flippy. _He's not evil. He won't hurt you. Yet._

Flaky sat dripping in her car in the driver's seat, seatbelt pulled tight, eyes fixed on Flippy, paws glued to the steering wheel.

"All finished!" he called out, opening the passenger door. He placed the wrench in the glove compartment, and Flaky locked it. The doors shut, and she engaged the engine, flooring the gas. They pealed out, tires squeaking on the wet road. Flaky now fixed her eyes on the road in front of her. _Just go. He'll tell you where to go, when to stop. He'll tell you. He'll tell you._ Thunder growled, and the rain on the roof hit hard.

"Slow down!" Flippy squealed. "You're going to get us killed!"

Flaky fixed her wide-eyed, panic stricken gaze on Flippy, saying no words.

"The road! KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!" he screamed. Thunder yelped.

 _He's worried._ Flaky turned her eyes back to the road, but not before catching a glimpse of Flippy's _yellow_ ones. His paws grasped the wheel, yanking it out from under her. The car swerved. Flaky began to squirm, trying to overthrow Flippy. But he was too strong. Then there were trees instead of open road. There was a bright flash of red, and Flaky snapped back to reality. Flippy was still controlling the wheel.

"STOP THE CAR!" he yelled, green paws contrasting Flaky's red ones. Flaky shook her head forcefully, tightening her grip on the wheel.

"Get your paws off…please…" she whimpered. Flippy obeyed. Lightning lit up the air, and Flaky caught a glimpse of Flippy's face in the light. His warm brown eyes were full of fear, maybe as much as her pale red ones. _Maybe he's not evil. He's just as scared for his own life as I am! And why has he not flipped, not gone evil? There's thunder and lightning and stuff! Okay. Okay. Maybe. I was wrong. Maybe. Calm. Down._ Flaky slowed her breaths.

She muttered a faint, "Sorry," and pulled over. She got out into the rain, and the two switched places. Flippy was now in complete control. Flaky stared ahead, regretting the fact that she had not unlocked the glove compartment before switching spots. He was in complete control. Complete control. _I'm going to die!_ Suddenly, she felt Flippy's paw on her shoulder and stiffened. She slowly turned to face him.

"It's all right to be afraid of me. Everyone is," he said quietly. "I just wanted to help." There was a click as he unlocked the glove compartment. _Maybe he's got as pure of a heart as you can find these days._ Flaky did not reach for the wrench. She was no longer scared.

"Thank you," she breathed, grasping his paw in hers. He smiled. "I'm sorry. I was just so afraid." She gave a smile back. "But I guess we can make it. We can make it."

"Homeward?" he asked.

"Homeward," she replied.

He gunned the engine.


End file.
